CAMP LAUGH A LOT

Virginia Ravndal is a Wildlife Ecologist and the founder of Camp Laugh A Lot. She works as a senior consultant on biological diversity conservation for the United Nations Development Programme. In this capacity and in her former capacity of Principal Technical Adviser for the United Nations Global Environment Fund, she has worked on nature conservation projects in more than 40 countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. She is the founder of the 'Youth Environment Corps', an initiative recently taken up by the United Nations to provide training and employment related to environmental conservation for youth in post-conflict and natural disaster prone areas. The first models of the Youth Environment Corps are being established in Nepal, Angola and Nicaragua. Virginia grew up in South America in an American diplomatic family. She speaks English and Spanish fluently and learned enough Swahili to get by during the time she spent living in a tent in Tanzania, East Africa as a wildlife researcher studying lions in one of the National Parks. Later on she lived on the Pine Ridge Reservation for several years during which time she got to know many children and noted the lack of organized outdoor opportunities for kids. She also noticed that although the Black Hills feature in many Lakota stories and songs, Lakota children rarely had opportunities to visit the Black Hills as this most sacred area to the Lakota people was excluded from the Reservation when boundaries were redrawn. While living on the Reservation, Virginia volunteered at Elderly Meals. The elders there encouraged her to form an organization to give Lakota kids the opportunity to go to camp as she herself had done as a kid. In her youth, Virginia worked as a Camp Counselor at Camp Adventure in Maryland. She has a Bachelors degree in Special Education and Secondary Science and a Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology. Virginia believes strongly in service to others and has volunteered with numerous organizations over the years including Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe, a school for the blind in Bolivia, an animal shelter in Mexico, Habitat for Humanity, homeless shelters, and several therapeutic horse riding programs for children with special needs. Virginia believes that every person can make a positive difference and that thru helping others we enhance appreciation of our own self worth and abilities and in this way we begin to comprehend and believe that we can all engage not only in helping others but also in self-help. Along with Mary Eunice Romero of the Cochiti Pueblo (Tribe) in New Mexico, Virginia founded the Native American Environmental Council of Youth to promote greater awareness by Native American youth of environmental issues on Tribal lands in New Mexico, the state in which she now resides. Virginia is also the founder of another 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization on the Pine Ridge Reservation, The Lakota Animal Care Project (www.lakotaanimalcare.org).

Mr. Tony Wounded Head

Tony Wounded Head is an elected member of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council. He is a Representative for the Porcupine District and serves on several committees including the Land & Natural Resource Committee, the Education Committee, the Health & Human Services Committee, the Judiciary Committee, and the Finance Committee. Tony has been happily married for 22 years and has four grown children. Tony served as a Law-Enforcement Officer on the Pine Ridge Reservation for approximately 20 years. He also worked for the Oglala Sioux Parks & Recreation Authority as a Conservation Officer and many people who have visited the White River Visitor Center on the Reservation will have been greeted by Tony's cheerful self. Tony also worked with the Oglala Sioux Department of Public Safety as a School Resource Officer. Tony believes that children come first and that every child needs a positive role model. Tony himself has served as such a role model for many children both in his day-to-day actions and in his former capacity of instructor with the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance and Education) & GREAT (Gang Resistance Education And Training) programs on the Reservation. These trainings allow youth to make decisions for themselves and to develop a sense of accomplishment without adverse peer-pressure. Tony believes that our children and youth of today are often misunderstood and that Camp is one important way to reassure them that they are SOMEONE and to help reinstate their sense of self worth. Camp Laugh A Lot is honored and proud to include Mr. Tony Wounded Head as one of our Directors.

Ms. Tawney Brunsch

Tawney Brunsch is Loan Portfolio Manager for the Lakota Funds, a not-for-profit community development organization promoting socio-economic sustainability on the Pine Ridge Reservation through business loans, technical assistance and other means. Previous to joining the Lakota Funds, Tawney was Branch Manager with the Black Hills Federal Credit Union in Wall, South Dakota. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Economics from South Dakota State University where she graduated with Omicron Delta Epsilon honors. While BHFCU Branch Manager, Tawney was an active Board member with Wall Neighborhood Housing Services (WNHS), an organization that strives to create opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, and improve their lives while strengthening their communities. Tawney helped organize community events like Paint the Town, where volunteers paint a needy homeowner's house early in the summer; Treasures and Trash for Cash, a large city wide rummage sale meant to encourage homeowners to join together to spruce up their neighborhoods; and Warm and Safe, a project to assist elderly and otherwise needy homeowners with weather proofing their homes in the fall. She was honored to be named WNHS Volunteer of the Year in 2007. She also served on the Economic Development Committee in Wall and is a certified VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) volunteer. Tawney grew up on a ranch on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and is proud to call the Badlands home. She is grateful to have raised her three sons on a ranch in rural Pennington County for twenty years, and is equally happy to return home to the Reservation where she lives now at the base of Eagle Nest Butte. Camp Laugh A Lot is honored and proud to include Ms.Tawney Brunsch amongst our Directors.

Mr. Jeremy Philipp

Jeremy Philipp is the Environmental Education Specialist and Summer Camp Director at Audubon New Mexico's Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Amongst many other responsibilities, Jeremy leads hikes and activities with campers, trains summer interns in instructional methods, and guides counselors in leadership skills activities. Jeremy has a BA in Environmental Studies and a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Jeremy has many years of experience as an educator in public and private schools as well as in nature centers in several states. Most recently, Jeremy was a 5th grade teacher and a 6th grade life science teacher at an independent school in Kansas. Jeremy was awarded the Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Junior High School Mathematics Teaching in 2007, being one of 53 teachers selected for this distinction from across the United States and Canada. While working for the Keystone Science School in Colorado as an Assistant Camp Director, Jeremy led and trained other environmental educators. Jeremy's first connection with environmental education came when he was the Lead Environmental Educator at YMCA's Camp Shady Brook in Colorado. In addition to Jeremy's experience as an outdoor leader, he currently has a Wilderness First Responder certification, speaks Spanish and is on the Environmental Education Association of New Mexico's (EEANM) Board. Camp Laugh A Lot is honored and proud to include Mr. Jeremy Philipp amongst our Directors.

Ms. Daphne Richards-Cook

Daphne is the Executive Director of ATTA, the Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates, a non-profit organization and a consortium of tribes organized to enhance and promote tourism as a means of economic development and growth, while maintaining respect for the traditional ways. ATTA was established in 1993 by tribal governments in South Dakota to see what could be done to assure greater Indian participation and economic benefit from the State's growing tourism industry. Daphne is also on the Rapid City School Board and is active in numerous other initiatives dealing with improving the lives of people on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Daphne is a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe and currently resides outside of Rapid City. Camp Laugh A Lot is honored and proud to include Ms. Daphne Richards-Cook amongst our Directors.